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THE GROMA
The groma
(below)
was used by a surveyor
to mark out straight lines in building
projects. Using the groma, the Romans built
extremely straight roads.
Colourful mosaics on the floors of Roman
houses give us all sorts of clues about
everyday life. Here the grape harvest is being
pressed into wine.
T
he Romans were skilled
builders and engineers.
Many of their buildings
survive today. The Pont du
Gard (
right
) carried an
aqueduct (water channel). It
ran for more than 31 miles (50
km) and carried 20,000 tons
(20,000 t) of water a day to the
people of Nîmes, France.
ROMAN BUILDERS
The Romans built public buildings,
such as baths, theaters, and
temples, as well as roads, bridges,
and blocks of apartments. The
Romans discovered how to make
concrete out of volcanic rocks
and rubble. This allowed them to
build even bigger buildings as
concrete is not as
heavy as stone.
BUILDERS AND ENGINEERS
The weights hanging down
from the groma held the
strings straight.
